Grenade.



H. C. WILLIAMSON.

GRENADE.

APPLICATION FILED IIIIIIII 2. 191e.

Patented June 26, 1917 l of Illinois,

i5 nade, will preferably be HERBERT C. WILLIAMSON, OE CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

GRENADE.

Patented une 26, 191 7 Application led March 2, 1916. Serial No. 81,591.

To all fwwm t may concern.'

Be it known that I, HERBERT C. WILLIAM- SON, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Grenades, of which thefollowing is a specification.

Hand grenades as usually manufactured are more or less complicatedaffairs which must be specially constructed and loaded in a specialmanner, all of which tends to increase the oost of the same, as well asto make them more diliicult to use. The present invention relates togrenades which are adapted to be thrown'by hand' or by means of suitablethrowing apparatus. Among the j objects of this invention'are to providean` exceedingly simple and efficient grenade which may be cheaplyconstructed,y and which will beefcient in use; to provide a grenade inwhich an ordinary shell such as a shot gun shell may be used forexploding the same; and in general, to provide such an improved deviceor construction as will 25 be more fully described hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating this invention:

Figure l is a side elevation;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view; and

'F ig. 3 is a cross sectional view.

The use of explosive shells such as commonly employed for shot guns iswell understood, and in accordance with my invention. I utilize suchshells for the explosive member, these shells being preferably chargedwith a charge of explosive material larger and stronger than ordinarilyemployed in shot guns. In order to utilize these shells, I provide agrenade comprising a body portion 4, which is preferably made of castmetal, such as cast iron, and is somewhat heavier at one end than at theother.

This body portion is made of convenient size for handling, and when usedas a hand gremade substantially egg shaped, as shown. This body portionor container is preferably provided with ribs or projections 5, whichmay be arranged in any desired manner, but are preferably @longitudinaland extend throughout the greater length of the container. These ribsserve to make more effective fragments for causing injury, and may beproportioned so as to cause the b ody to break into more or 5 lessportions and in dierent ways, as may be desired. The body or containeris provided with a central longitudinal bore 6, of y theproper size toreceive an ordinary shell 7 such as commonly used in shot guns 0r thelike. A plurality of radial grooves 8 may be arranged along the centralbore 6, so as to assist in the rupturing action of the charge. Thesegrooves preferably increase in depth from the smaller end toward thelarger end, so as to make the breaking resistance about equal throughoutthe body. The body is provided with a threaded recess or aperture 9, inalinement with the central bore, this recess terminating in a shoulder10, which 'serves as an abutment for the flange 11 of the cartridgeshell. A threaded block or plug 12 screws into'the recess 9, and-itslinner end engages closely with the end of the cartridge shell. Thisblock is provided with a firing pin 13, which is adapted to movelongitudinally in the central hole 14e provided for thek same. The pin13 has a recess 15 in one side thereof, which is engaged by the innerend of a set screw 16, which serves to prevent the pin from becomingdisengaged from the block, although allowing the necessary longitudinalmovement. A disk or plate 17 is secured to the firing pin 13 in anysuitable manner, as by means of a nut 18. This plate is preferably ofconvex or segmental form, so as to correspond with the outline of thelargevend of the body 4.. Y

When my improvedfgrenade is to be used, a loaded cartridge shell 7 isinserted in the fcentral bore ofthe grenade, and the plug Lorblock 12 isscrewed gages with the flange 11, thereby holdingv into position, andenthe shell firmly in position. The shell or cartridge is provided withthe usual detonating cap 19, which is adapted to be engaged by theprojection 20 on the end of the firing pin 13, but this projection isnormally out of engagement therewith. The disk or plate 17 is thensecured in position and the device is ready to be used. If it is thrownor dropped, the heavy end will strike first, and as soon as the plate 17comes in contact with the earth or any resisting object, it forces thepin 13 inwardly, thereby causing the projection 2O 19 and explode thecharge in the shell, which will cause the fragments to be thrown in alldirections. The plate 17 is made in this peculiar form so that even ifthe grenade strikes at an acute angle, or in fact strikes in any way sothat the plate comes in con-l to strike the cap tactwith a non-yieldingobject,vthe pin will be forced inwardly, thereby insuringuthe eX-ploding of the device. It will be seen from the relative proportions ofthe parts of this grenade that, even if the body portion should strikein advance of the firing pin, the weight of the pin and attached partswould be suflicient to cause the explosion of the charge. By means ofthis arrangement, it will be seen that I have `provided a grenade whichmay be used in connection with ordinary paper shells or other cartridgessuch as those used for ordinary shot guns, and which will be exceedinglyeffective in use. It will be observed that my improved grenade may bevaried in shape and size without departing from the principal featuresof the invention, and therefore I do not wish to limit myself to theexact arrangement or construction herein .shown and described, eX- ceptas speciiiedin the following claims, in which I claim: l. vIn a handgrenade, the combination of a body comprising a cylinder closed at one iend andr having a threaded open end, the

inner wall of vthe cylinder being provided with one or more transversegrooves, the outer wall of the cylinder being provided vwith a pluralityof 'longitudinal ribs which taper outwardly from the closed end towaidthe open end, a shell fitting in said cylinder, avthreaded plug in theopen end for engagement with said shell, a firing pin mounted in saidplug, and a cup-shapeddisk secured to said pin Aand embracing ytheadjacent end of the body portion, said pin and disk being` of suiiicientweight so that when the grenade is'thrown, the cartridge will beexploded, even if the body portion strikes in advance of the disk.

2. In a grenade, the combination of a body portion having a central borefor re- Copies of this patent maybe 1obtained for ive cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents,v

Apass through said central hole `for engagement with the cap of thecartridge.

3. In, a device of theJ character set forth, the combination of a bodyportion having exterior projections and heavier at one end than theother, a longitudinal bore extending in -from the heavier end, annulargrooves along said bore, a threaded recess in said heavier end having ashoulder in the bottoniv thereof, a cartridge fitting in said centralbore, with its flange resting against said shoulder, a threaded plug forsaid recess,

adapted to engage with the end ofthe cartridge, a firing pin slidablyinountedin said plug, and a disk secured to said firing-pin.

4. In a device of the character set forth, the combination of a body`portion which is heavier at one end than the' other, longitudinal ribsformed integrally with said bodyv portion, a bore extending inwardlyfrom the heavier end, a 'threaded recess concentric with said bore, acartridge fitting in said i central rbore and-having a iiangel engagingwith the bottom of the recess, a threaded plug engaging with said recessand adapted to hold the cartridge in position, a firing l pin in saidplug adapted to move llongitudinally therein, said pin having aprojection for engagement with the cartridge cap, vand a disk secured tosaid pin, the arrangement being such that the disk will tend to move thepin inwardly upon engagement with some non-yielding object. Y

yHERBERT C. wiLLiAMsoNl i Y Washington, ILC.

